Why Electric Daisy Carnival Texas Should Be In Houston

By Cory Garcia Mon., Feb. 4 2013 at 7:00 AM

The official announcement of the existence of EDC Texas.

The largest music festival in the United States in terms of attendance is not Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, or Austin City Limits. While each sees thousands of music fans pass through the gates every year, the real attendance champ is Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. The 2012 version of the event hosted 320,000 electronic dance music fans from around the world.

While Las Vegas is the crown jewel, it's only part of the greater EDC whole. EDC promoter Insomniac Events has spent the last few years expanding the brand across the country and this week they announced the six locations that will hold annual versions of the fest: Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Orlando, Puerto Rico and Texas.

Deciding where in our great state to hold EDC Texas seems like a difficult decision, but the choice is clear. Realistically, only so many locations can host a major festival on the scale of what we assume Insomniac wants EDC Texas to be, and a quick bit of compare/contrast shows that Houston is really the only place to host it.

Photo by Amanda Cain

5. Houston vs. San Antonio
Does anyone really want to go to San Antonio for a music festival? It's a great city that's nice to visit for an afternoon, it doesn't really scream out "music city" unless you happen to be into heavy metal. Ozzfest Texas being in San Antonio? Makes sense. EDC Texas? Not much sense. While promoters are trying to turn SA in to an EDM hotspot, they still have a ways to go to compete with the rest of the state.

Photo by Amanda Cain

4. Houston vs. Dallas
Not to focus too much on the uncomfortable past, but after the events of EDC Dallas in 2011 it's hard to imagine that the city and Insomniac want a lot to do with each other. Our friends at the Dallas Observer have a good write-up on the subject, but the long story short is that the lasting memory of EDC Dallas is one dead and dozens hospitalized.

Plus Dallas already has their own major EDM festival in Lights All Night; do we really want to force our EDM friends across the state the pain of going to Dallas twice in the same year?

3. Houston vs. South Padre Island
Ever hear anyone talk about going to South Padre for something other than Spring Break? Sure they've managed to bring some EDM heavyweights when the college kids are out on vacation, but that doesn't mean it's an EDM hotspot, it just means promoters know easy money when they see it.

And not for nothing, but do we really want the rest of the country looking at EDC Texas and asking themselves, "What's a Schlitterbahn?" because that's where the show would end up down there.

Tags:

EDM, Electric Daisy Carnival

We Recommend

permanentlyfried

They should have EDC Texas at The Circuit of the Americas! plenty of field space and an amphitheater!

kynsleyw

Hey everyone :)
I love music festivals and if your dying to go to one this summer, check out this contest held by RelaXsonic. They're giving 4 people Electric Forest tickets and also have tons of other prizes including a ticket to Summercamp music festival, gongs and bunk police test kits.

Easy stuff like sharing their page, tweeting, etc. You have to have a Facebook to participate though.

Relaxsonic is an amazing group that uses gongs to give a sonic massage to your mind and body. From first hand experience, its incredible. Check them out on youtube!

Here's the link to the contest! http://bit.ly/VKCbwh
Good luck!

julianbajsel

I would be very surprised if it wasn't Houston. In fact, back in 2011, Insomniac had short-lived plans to have an EDC at Sam Houston Raceway Park until it was postponed due to inadequate time to plan and execute a proper festival (their words). At that time they said they said they would return in 2012, which obviously did not materialize. Past intent aside, Houston would fit the trend of bringing EDC to the biggest US cities: LV (forced to move from LA), New York, and Chicago. Here's hoping for Reliant Park.